NAPL Honors Best Managed Graphic Arts Companies for 2008

PARAMUS, NJ—April 7, 2009—NAPL, the trade association for excellence in business management, selected 17 graphic communications companies to receive 2008 Management Plus Awards, which recognize management excellence in all phases of operation. The highest Management Plus honor, the William K. Marrinan Hall of Fame Award, was bestowed on Wordsprint, Inc., a leading provider of design, print and mail services in Wytheville, Virginia. Four companies earned Management Plus Gold Awards, 7 received Silver Awards, and five were named Merit Award winners.

“Management Plus award winners are the kinds of organizations that have what it takes to succeed in today’s challenging marketplace—a high degree of management excellence in all operational areas,” said Joseph P. Truncale, NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer. “I and everyone at NAPL extend our sincere congratulations to all the 2008 Management Plus honorees.”

The awards were presented at a special banquet on Tuesday, March 17, during NAPL’s 2009 Top Management Conference in Tucson, Arizona. The annual NAPL Management Plus program is sponsored by American Printer magazine, Compass Capital Partners, Ltd., and manroland.

In addition to receiving the award, the Hall of Fame inductee and the top Gold Award winners in each category (there are five categories based on sales volume and one for in-plant printers) have the honor of presenting scholarships to the graphic communications schools of their choice. The scholarships are funded by NAPL and the Management Plus sponsors.

All Management Plus award winners become members of the NAPL Management Plus Society, a peer group dedicated to improving and promoting the graphic arts. The Society offers valuable opportunities for networking with executives of leading companies in the industry.

About Management Plus: Unlike other graphic arts competitions in which printed pieces are judged, NAPL’s Management Plus program judges management excellence. Graphic communications companies are asked to conduct an analysis of specific areas of their operations. In that way, the program becomes a diagnostic tool that printing company leaders can use to judge their own management performance against accepted industry standards.